Buckle and BKE Jeans: Communicating to Consumers through a Prop Metaphor

Abstract

Buckle is a clothing retailer, and BKE jeans are its core product. Although this business does not engage in a lot of traditional media marketing communications, it does create sharable content for its website and social media channels. A novel approach to studying consumer behavior is the use of concepts from the theater literature. Just as one can study an actor's use of a costume for a particular role, one can also study how consumers use brands and products as props for their social roles. Using this prop metaphor is a possible new strategic direction for Buckle to communicate to its consumers.